Byrne Robotics: Q for All: What is Your Preferred Strength Level for Spider-man?

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Topic: Q for All: What is Your Preferred Strength Level for Spider-man?

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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 134708

Posted: 06 July 2025 at 1:24pm \| IP Logged \| 1	post reply

…the Hulk, Thor, and the Thing…

•••

From the vintage of that drawing we could easily unleash a fairly ferocious debate on the strength levels of those three!

Applying my “specialist rule” I would place the Hulk far ahead of the other two.

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Brian Miller
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Joined: 28 July 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 31643

Posted: 06 July 2025 at 1:29pm \| IP Logged \| 2	post reply

On one of those early jobs the editor called and told me to stop. “We don’t
do that any more.”

I asked if he was aware the webbing was there on the corner symbol.

“Just stop,” he said, “and we’ll do a story explaining it.”

*******

Stern/JRjr emphasized him adding it back to the costume. Not sure if a
story was ever done explaining its absence.

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Rick Whiting
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Joined: 22 April 2004
Posts: 2248

Posted: 06 July 2025 at 2:37pm \| IP Logged \| 3	post reply

Seeing that panel of Spidy lifting up that bus is probably how Marvel came up with Spidey's strength level being able to lift 10 tons since a city bus weights between 10 and 20 tons. IMO, I think that it was a mistake to make Spidey that strong. I'm one of those fans who doesn't like heroes being over powered and I think that one of the worse things that has happened to Marvel over the last 20 years is that the Marvel heroes have become way over powered (I'm talking DC levels of OP). When you have the Hulk preventing an earth destroying Earthquake by holding two tectonic plates together, you have jumped the shark. And don't get me started on Wolverine's healing factor being OP.

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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 134708

Posted: 07 July 2025 at 12:20pm \| IP Logged \| 4	post reply

Seeing that panel of Spidy lifting up that bus is probably how Marvel came up with Spidey's strength level …

•••

That panel came long after Stan’s “strength of ten men” declaration.

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Rick Senger
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Joined: 16 April 2004
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Posts: 9752

Posted: 07 July 2025 at 1:19pm \| IP Logged \| 5	post reply

One of my all-time favorite issues is Daredevil #7 where a normal powered
DD attempts to go toe to toe with Submariner who way outclasses him
physically, even weakened by a lack of recent water contact. It was beyond
improbable that DD could hang with Submariner past a punch or two back
then (can’t speak for now) but there was something incredibly compelling /
noble about the attempt and Stan came up with some good wrinkles to
make the battle last as long as it did. I prefer a plucky, spry, clever but
physically overmatched Spidey who uses Perker’s science brain wits and
pluck more than some trumped up Super-Spidey powers which made him
just another muscle head. The best Spider-man for me was his angsty early
incarnation when he was an underdog teen, not a symbiote-enhanced (or
whatever the amped excuse) God.

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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

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Posts: 134708

Posted: 07 July 2025 at 1:47pm \| IP Logged \| 6	post reply

Lazy writing will almost invariably lead to power increases. Look at Superman. As the years went by his abilities increased—some coming from the animated cartoons—which somewhat ironically cause power levels to be scaled down on Krypton. The “race of supermen” that planet had spawned were pretty much reg’lar folks by the time Kal-El was flying unaided between stars.

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Andrew Bitner
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Joined: 01 June 2004
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Posts: 7566

Posted: 07 July 2025 at 3:19pm \| IP Logged \| 7	post reply

Spider-Man should be strong enough to lift a car off someone but not then able to throw that car at someone two blocks away. Capable of truly impressive feats but not toppling (or holding up) a building single-handed.

In short, he ought to be a lot stronger than the street level criminals he usually faces but not so much that he's picking fights with Power Man or Doc Samson.

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